The Man on the Stage
by BanginBrownEyes
Summary: Two years after ending their relationship, Tessa suddenly re-appears in Seeley’s life… with a 14 month old baby she claims is his. Is she telling the truth? Only our favorite trashy talk show host will tell!


_Tap, tap, tap_

It was the only sound in the otherwise silent office, the bored monotonous tapping of Special Agent Seeley Booth's pen against his desk. He stared blindly at the open case file in his hand, wondering how anyone could possibly trust another human being, knowing what he did: that they were capable of committing just about any heinous crime, and then lying blatantly to your face about it.

Sighing heavily, he closed the folder and laid it gently on the pile in front of him. _Just one more perp in an endless parade of crime and justice_, he thought, before discarding the chewed-up tapping pen and propping his feet up on the desk. He had just closed his eyes and settled into his chair, when a sharp, irritated voice filled the room.

"Booth?" The agent opened one eye cautiously, and smiled when he saw his partner's familiar face in the doorway.

"Bones! What's up?" A very frustrated Dr. Temperance Brennan just sighed and rolled her eyes.

"I don't know why you insist on using that phrase, Booth, it's obtuse. And anyway, what is up is that you are currently standing me up for our dinner date."

"What? Dinner? Bones, it's only five-thirty." He exclaimed, glancing uneasily at his desk clock. It was five-thirty seven, exactly fifty-three minutes before he'd promised to meet his partner at the Jeffersonian.

"Booth, I think you need to wind your clock." Brennan laughed, shaking her head in disbelief. "It's six forty-five." Frowning, Booth picked up the clock and held it to his ear. It wasn't ticking.

"Damn it, I'm sorry Bones." He pouted. The look on his face was enough to make Brennan burst out laughing again. Booth took the bright toothy grin as a sign that she forgave him, and skipped eagerly across the room to fetch his coat. "Let's get going."

Turning off the lights and locking the door behind them, Booth and Brennan made their way down the hall, heading toward the last set of elevators. The transition from work to play was almost effortless, each taking turns chatting mindlessly about their day.

"…Cam said the fibers looked artificial but Angela insisted it was genuine Angora…"

"…and when Cullen caught Agent _Doofus_ chatting with his fiancée on a bureau issued cell phone, he-"

"Seeley!"

The agent and his partner stopped dead in their tracks. Both fell silent as the couple turned to look at one another, then down the hall, each reading the other's mind. _I know that voice_…

"Seeley, I'm so glad I didn't miss you!" Booth's eyes widened in realization as the tall, leggy blonde made her way toward them, a fake, overly-enthusiastic smile stretched across her face.

"Tessa?" He exclaimed. The word was more a question than a greeting.

"Hey, Seel." She breathed, shifting the bundle in her arms and tossing a wave of long yellow hair over her shoulder. Then, she looked to the all-too-familiar woman standing next to him and nodded curtly. "Dr. Brennan."

"Hello, Tessa." Brennan answered politely. It seemed little had changed since the last time the two women had seen one another. Tessa still rubbed Brennan the wrong way, and she was almost certain that the feeling was mutual. "How are you?"

But Tessa wasn't paying attention. Her gaze was firmly fixated on Booth, who, at the moment, closely resembled a deer caught in headlights.

"Tessa, what are you doing here?" He said at last. "I thought you were in New York."

"I was," she explained. "But we came back to D.C. to visit my parents and I figured, you know, that maybe we'd stop by." _We?_ Booth thought to himself. _Who's we?_ It was then that he finally realized what Tessa, his ex-lover, had been holding. _Wait a minute, since when does Tessa have a baby?_

For a long moment, Booth stared, wide-eyed, at the little boy in Tessa's arms. He was dressed in a baseball shirt and miniature blue jeans, and a pair of infant-sized sneakers waved excitedly in the air as he kicked his feet. From the looks of him, Booth decided, he couldn't have been much more than a year old. The agent smiled as he took in the child's big brown eyes and thick tuft of dark hair, reminding him so much of his own son at this age. Offering him a finger, Booth began to coo softly at the baby, who responded by giggling happily and stuffing his own fist in his mouth.

"Hey, buddy, what's your name?" Booth asked him, in a goofy "daddy" voice. Tessa chuckled and hoisted the baby higher on her hip.

"Seeley," She began nervously. "I'd like you to meet Justice Raine……our son."


End file.
